Joselu inspires Real Madrid past Bayern Munich

MADRID (AP) —After yet another magical night at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Real Madrid is back in the Champions League final.

The 14-time European champion pulled off another thrilling comeback on Wednesday, rallying to defeat Bayern Munich 2-1 and reach the final for the second time in three seasons.

Like it happened so many times in 2022, Madrid needed some late drama to advance.

Joselu scored in the 88th minute and then in stoppage time as Madrid advanced 4-3 on aggregate to set up a final against Borussia Dortmund on June 1 in London.

Bayern had taken the lead on an Alphonso Davies goal in the 68th — and then deep in stoppage time thought it had equalized but hadn’t because of an offside call.

Joselu’s first goal was a tap in after Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer spilled an easy save. The second was initially called off for offside but was eventually allowed after video review.

It will be Madrid’s record-extending 18th European Cup final, and ninth in the Champions League era, also a record. Madrid beat Liverpool when it last made it to the final in 2022, a season marked by several late comebacks like that one it pulled off on Wednesday.

Madrid at the time pulled off thrilling comebacks at the Bernabeu against Manchester City in the semifinals, Chelsea in the quarterfinals and Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16.

Six-time European champion Bayern was looking to return to the final for the first time since winning the competition in 201920. The loss meant there will be no rematch of the all-German final in 2013, when Bayern beat Dortmund to win its fifth European title.

“It hurts. It’ll take a while to recover, but on the one hand it’s a loss where we left it all out on the pitch,” Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel said. “Of course, it’s tough to accept. It’s part of reality. No regrets.”

Dortmund, the 1997 European champion, eliminated Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 on aggregate on Tuesday.

It was a mostly even match but Madrid created the most significant scoring chances. But it had not been able to get past what was a terrific performance by Neuer, who had made a series of difficult saves to keep Bayern in the match.

But the German international faltered in the final minutes, dropping an easy ball after a shot by Vinícius Júnior and allowing Joselu — who came off the bench in the 81st — to equalize from in front of the goal.